Slavery is not as bad as it sounds
by harry-mione
Summary: In response to a challenge at portkey. What would you do if both of your best friends were under your control for a month? And what if one of them wa secretly your crush? I'm not good at summaries. Rating just to be safe. Be warned: HHr
1. Chapter 1

_Hey guys. Well, I'm back in Mexico for the holidays, but I'll be back in Switzerland in less than two weeks. I know that now that I finally have time I should be working in "Second Chance", but not writing in such a long time has seemed to induce me a writer's block, so I hope that writing this will help me unwind and hopefully by the time I'm finished I'll have enough time left to write at least one chapter of SC before leaving. _

_Anyway, I'm writing this in response to challenge A Bet Between the Trio by Scout, so I'll try to meet the guidelines and hopefully I'm not too rusty after such a long time. _

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**Chapter 1**

"Bloody Hell, Hermione! Can't you just stick your nose out of that book for two seconds?!" cried out a rather exasperated redhead to a certain overly studious bushy haired witch.

"Well, Ronald, you may not care about your grades, but I care about mine, and the N.E.W.T.s are right around the corner!" she replied snappily.

"Hermione…those are more than a year away!" Harry tried to talk some sense into her.

She, however, just ignored their comments and continued to browse incessantly through the 3 meter tall pile of books on the table.

Both boys looked at each other, sharing their concern. Their best friend had always been way too disciplined, or, in Ron's words: absolutely nutters, but these past few weeks she'd been even more stressed out than usual, and it was starting to worry them.

"Ok, that's enough" breathed out Harry while he made his way towards Hermione, grabbed her by her upper arms, forced her to look right at him and shook her with mild force, not noticing the slight blush that appeared on her cheeks "You-have-got-to-re-lax"

"Yeah, Harry's right! You've got to stop stressing out!" agreed the redhead.

"Of course I can relax, I just happen to care about my grades!" she answered with exasperation.

"Please! You couldn't stop reading a book if Vo-Volde-mort was knocking at your front door!" retorted Ron.

"Of course I could!" she snapped.

"Prove it then" Harry challenged her "If you can spend one entire week with your nose out of a book, Ron and I will be your slaves for a month. However, if you can't do it, then you'll have to do that for us"

"I'd never agree to such an immature thing…besides, it wouldn't even be fair. If I lose I'd have to serve the both of you, while if you lose you'd only have to serve me and you could divide the work between the two" she argued.

"Fine then" said Ron "If you lose you'll only have to serve us for two weeks, but if you win we'll serve you for a whole month"

"Come on, Hermione, this is all up to you and your will power. A little sacrifice and you'll have two slaves for a month!"

She stood silent for a few moments, then, with an audible sigh, agreed, leaving, books in hand, soon after.

"You know, mate, it wouldn't be that great being slaves, but I actually hope she wins the bet, she's seriously got to relax a bit" commented Harry while heading up the stairs.

"Yeah, I hope she wins too" muttered Ron "Besides, even if she wins, she'll probably just have us doing our homework and studying, so it's not like anything's gonna change".

If only he'd known how wrong he was.

**A week later **

"Bloody hell, mate!" cried out Ron.

"What's up, Ron?" questioned Harry.

"It's Friday!"

"So?"

"When was the last time you saw Hermione crack open a book?" he inquired.

"Last Fri…" his voice trailed off as he realized the implications of this.

A voice resounded from the doorway, interrupting their thoughts "Oh boys…" Hermione called them, a dangerous glint in her eyes, and a new resolution in mind.

_Well, that's all for now, guys, I know it's short, but it's just an introduction, I'll probably have the next chapter up by tomorrow, and really try to upload this story very quickly. _


	2. Chapter 2

_Well, as I promised, here's the next chapter. Hope you enjoy it. _

**Previously: **

"Bloody hell, mate!" cried out Ron.

"What's up, Ron?" questioned Harry.

"It's Friday!"

"So?"

"When was the last time you saw Hermione crack open a book?" he inquired.

"Last Fri…" his voice trailed off as he realized the implications of this.

A voice resounded from the doorway, interrupting their thoughts "Oh boys…" Hermione called them, a dangerous glint in her eyes, and a new resolution in mind.

**Chapter 2: **

"Mate, tell me again why we're in the library, on a Saturday, doing an essay that's not due till two weeks from now!" called out a grumpy teen boy.

"Because we lost the bet…and now our lives are at Hermione's mercy, and she, being the great friend she is, decided to let us do our homework so that we won't fall behind…specially now that it's just about to be due…two weeks from now!" retorted edgily Harry, with a touch of sarcasm weaven into his words.

Just then, the source of their discomfort walked in, wearing faded jeans and a green polo covered by a jean jacket, her coat and gloves at hand. For some reason, Harry couldn't help but think she looked particularly pretty today…had she done something with her hair? Bloody hell! Was that make-up?

She was smiling warmly, and for a moment, our bespectacled hero forgot his slight anger towards her and smiled back. Ron, however, did no such thing, and immediately started complaining, not particularly rudely, though, for he knew she'd won the bet cleanly and fairly, and he'd agreed to be her slave.

Hermione just ignored him and waved to them to keep working on their homework, which, after a few more complains, they did.

Meanwhile, the young witch was left to her own thoughts, trying to muster up the courage to do what she was about to.

_Come on, Hermione, it's not like he can say anything, he's your slave! _

_But wouldn't it look too obvious? He could start suspecting that I've got a small, teeny, tiny, microscopic, invisible-to-the-eye crush on him. _

_First of all, your crush is better described as huge, enormous, gigantic, and blatantly obvious to everyone but him, better yet, I think it goes way beyond a simple crush. Second of all, your excuse is pretty good, just say you're tired of doing work and ask him to walk with you by the lake to calm down a bit. And third of all, so what if he suspects that you like him? He probably likes you back, everybody at school says so. _

_Well, rumors aren't frequently true. They also keep saying that I'm in love with him! _

_Which you are! _

_Oh…just shut up!_

"Harry" she called out to him.

He turned his head around and focused on her.

"I'm pretty tired, and you aren't looking too good either, so come on, let's take a walk around" she told him, trying not to make it sound like an order.

"Umm, sure" he agreed, a slight grin upon his face.

"Hey, I've been working just as hard, why can't I go?" whined Ron.

"Because Harry's done already 6 inches of writing and you've only done 4" she retorted.

Ron couldn't answer back, so soon both friends were heading out the door.

---

"Harry, who do you like?" asked Hermione nonchalantly (or at least she tried to) while staring at the peaceful lake.

"Err…sorry master, but I couldn't tell you that" he replied, a slight blush creeping up at his cheeks.

Hermione failed to notice the way that he stared at her for the briefest of seconds while answering this question, but soon talked again "Harry…don't call me master…call me something else" she whispered quietly, yet loud enough for him to hear.

"What would you like me to call you then?" he inquired.

"I don't know. Just keep calling me Hermione…or just come up with a nickname if you want"

"You'd actually let me call you by a nickname?" asked Harry surprised.

"I guess so" she answered in a quiet voice.

"But you've never let either Ron or me call you by a nickname!"

"So?" she questioned with a touch of discomfort.

"Hermione…I'm supposed to be your slave, not the other way around" he joked.

A sudden jolt of confidence surged through her after hearing his laugh, she spoke again "Well, now I'll let you come up with a nickname for me. In fact…I _want_ you to call me by a nickname…it's your new order as my slave".

"Fine then…" he grinned mischievously "What about…sugarplums?"

"Harry!" she scrunched up her nose in disgust and smacked him jokingly on the head.

"No? Then…honey bun? Apple pie? Pumpkin pie? Sugar doughnut? cookie dough?..."

"Haha…just start thinking of something other than food, and perhaps I'll like it"

"Well then, I'll have your new nickname by tomorrow" he announced.

"Great" she smiled at him.

He grinned back warmly.

A rush of heat traveled towards her head, making her feel slightly lightheaded. He had the most adorable grin!

"So…err…maybe we should go back to the castle" she muttered.

"Ohh…sure" he breathed out. Was it just her imagination or did he actually seem a bit disappointed by this?

They started heading back, walking slowly, just admiring the falling snow.

_Time to muster my Gryffindor courage. Here it goes…_

"Umm…Harry. My hands are absolutely freezing! Could you please hold my hand so that I'll get some warmth?" she asked carefully.

"Sure!" he replied without hesitation, quickly taking her tiny hand in his own large one, trying to conceal the goofy grin that threatened to plaster itself upon hid face, which, this time, did not go unnoticed by a certain bushy haired witch.

So they continued walking, hand in hand, both trying to conceal their smiles.

**Two days later: **

"Bloody hell, Hermione! Why can't Harry carry your books too!?!" exclaimed Ron while trying to balance a two meter high pile of books in his hand, which threatened to fall at any given moment.

"I already told you Ron! Because my hands are cold and I need Harry to warm them up! He's actually got a much tougher job than you, he has to stick with me all day long!" retorted the bright young witch.

"Well, I could warm up your hands instead of him!"

"Ronald! You hate wearing gloves so your hands are always freezing, you'd hardly warm me up at all, Harry, however, always has warm hands!" she clarified "Now, stop complaining…I know what I'm doing"

"You know, Herms, I wouldn't mind helping Ron a bit" interrupted Harry.

"No, Harry, don't worry, I need you to do other stuff. And…sorry, but I don't like that nickname either"

"God, this is like the 50th nickname you dismiss" Harry said, not unkindly however, with a slight touch of humor in his voice actually.

"Well, you've got to think harder then" smiled Hermione, her hand holding on firmly to Harry's.

"When you two lovebirds are done flirting with each other, maybe you could open up the classroom door…I'd do it…but I'm carrying 20 kilos worth of books and paper!!!" snapped Ron.

Harry blushed and opened the door for Ron, while Hermione simply directed him a death-glare.

By the end of the day, Ron's arms were sore from so much lifting, while Hermione's and Harry's hands were all warm and tingly from so much…err…holding.

It wasn't time, however, for our poor slaves to retire, oh no, they still had a few duties to complete.

Hermione had Ron start knitting a few S.P.E.W. hats, while poor Harry was forced to sit and relax with her by the fire. Poor bloke, God knows how he was able to stand such dutiful work!

Anyway, when it was time for both boys to retire, Hermione was left alone to contemplate her thoughts. It had just occurred to her just how deep her power ran. She could actually make Harry do whatever she wanted, and, of course, there were many things she'd like him to do to her, but she just didn't have the guts. What if he didn't like her? What if he was disgusted by any romantic insinuation she suggested?

She shook her head. She had to risk it. So she climbed up the stairs, still thinking about her plan of action. Was she brave enough to demand a kiss from Harry? Perhaps, however, she could find a way to mask her attraction as concern, or helpfulness….

_Well, guys, this is the new chapter. Hope you enjoyed it. It won't be much longer now, unfortunately I don't have the time to overly elaborate on this story, but I hope you find it decent enough. Please review and tell me what you think of it. _


	3. Chapter 3

_Well, I'm back once again, I'd intended to post sooner, but with the New Year celebration and all that, I lacked the time to do so. Anyway, here's the new chapter. Hope you like it. _

**Previously: **

Hermione had Ron start knitting a few S.P.E.W. hats, while poor Harry was forced to sit and relax with her by the fire. Poor bloke, God knows how he was able to stand such dutiful work!

Anyway, when it was time for both boys to retire, Hermione was left alone to contemplate her thoughts. It had just occurred to her just how deep her power ran. She could actually make Harry do whatever she wanted, and, of course, there were many things she'd like him to do to her, but she just didn't have the guts. What if he didn't like her? What if he was disgusted by any romantic insinuation she suggested?

She shook her head. She had to risk it. So she climbed up the stairs, still thinking about her plan of action. Was she brave enough to demand a kiss from Harry? Perhaps, however, she could find a way to mask her attraction as concern, or helpfulness….

**Chapter 3: **

"Hermione! My arms are numb, and my hands are full of cuts and blisters!" Ron complained loudly while knitting yet another S.PE.W. hat.

It had been two bloody weeks of servitude, and poor Ron couldn't take it any more. He'd spent countless hours carrying Hermione's books, doing his homework, working on essays, actually STUDYING, and knitting hats, mittens and scarves for Hermione's darned S.P.E.W. All of this while Harry got to take walks by the lake with her, "warm up" her hands, and cuddle with her by the fire in an attempt to "warm her up" cause, it seemed, the girl had a serious case of the chills or something, cause she was cold at the time!

Yet he wasn't aloud to change work with Harry, no, of course not! Apparently, he was pretty cold by nature, while Harry exceeded lots of body heat!

In yet another useless, he knew, attempt to free himself from such prison, he called out to Hermione once again "Come on, Hermione, seriously, let Harry help me at least a bit!"

Hermione did of course realize that Ron's and Harry's jobs were unfair in opposition with each other, no matter how many excuses she did, Ron still had a much harder job, but still, Harry was so nice and warm and whenever she'd hold hands with him or sit with him by the fire she'd get such a tingling feeling.

"Ronald! We've discussed this already. I've chosen jobs for the both of you which suit you the better. You're pretty strong, so you can carry my books, you obviously do need to increase your grades so I'm doing you a favor by making you study, and you're very skilled with a needle, while Harry is a pretty good listener and slow, calm walker and keeps himself very warm during the winter, thus providing a great source of heat!" she argued.

Ron relented and continued knitting, all the while murmuring something about the unfairness of Harry walking about while he got stuck in the library and common room.

Hermione, though a bit guilty about the unfair treatment towards Ron, but confident in the fact that he wasn't really mad, preoccupied herself with mentally rehearsing the little speech she'd been preparing for the last two weeks. She'd decided she wanted Harry to kiss her, and she would order him to do just that, but, afraid of his rejection, she had planned out a convincing excuse (or so she hoped it was) for this strange order of hers.

She walked towards the school entrance to be greeted by an awaiting Harry, just as she knew she'd be. They'd been taking daily walks by the school grounds since the enslaving period had started, usually during the afternoons, but on weekends she'd instructed him to wait for her in the mornings; she'd found out that the view amidst the first hours of the day was simply breathtaking.

He smiled down at her, causing a shiver to run down her spine.

"Shall we go?" he extended her arm for her to take, which she automatically did.

"We shall" she answered with a slight smile of her own, a smile that revealed her nervousness.

They walked around the campus for a few minutes, without uttering a word, just enjoying each other's company and admiring the scenery. Who knew Hogwarts was this breathtaking? All you had to do was take the time to walk around and appreciate its beauty.

As they stepped through the lake's edge, Hermione spoke, trying to disguise her anxiousness "Harry…could…could I ask you a question?"

"Umm…sure, Mione, whichever one you want to" Hermione cringed a bit at her nickname, but she'd told Harry he could call her that…it was, after all, the less tacky one he'd come up with, and, for some reason...she didn't really dislike it that much, at least not coming from him.

"Well…err…why exactly did you and Cho break up?" she muttered quickly, yet clearly enough for him to hear.

He seemed a bit confused by this question, but answered anyway "Umm… I guess because she hated me spending time with you and we just had nothing to talk about, except Cedric, whom I didn't want to mention"

"Do you think there could have been another reason?" she asked.

"Umm…I guess so, I don't really know"

"Well, Harry, I'm sorry to tell you this, but girls always talk among themselves and I heard around that Cho thought you were a bad kisser, and that that was part of the reason you broke up"

The sheer expression on Harry's face at this statement was enough to take some of her nervousness away, and she even had to struggle not to laugh.

"Well…I guess I probably wasn't that great…I mean, it was my first kiss and all…but she didn't have to spread the word around!" he cried out, though not seeming too offended.

Hermione waited for a moment before turning to face him, acting as if she'd just thought up a great idea.

"You know what, Harry? I'm your best friend, in fact, I've been that for the past six years, and I've been saving your arse ever since I've met you, so I'll help you yet once again…" she paused to let her words sink in "I want you to kiss me"

To say the boy looked shocked would be the understatement of a century "Wh…Wha…Wha…What?"

"You heard me right Harry, as my slave I want you to kiss me, in order to find out how good or bad you are, it's not like I myself have had much practice, but I believe I can help you a bit" she stated firmly.

"But…but Hermione"

"No buts Harry…I'm doing you a favor cause I'm your friend, so just kiss me" she interrupted him.

He slowly leaned down and lightly brushed her lips with his, for no more than a second, yet causing both their mouths to tingle with warmth.

Hermione, however, was not satisfied with this small peck, on the contrary, it actually left her wanting for more.

Still a bit in a daze, she spoke softly "That wasn't a kiss Harry, that was just a peck, and I can't help you out if we don't really kiss"

Harry blushed and tried to argue (not because he did not want to kiss her, of course, but because he actually thought something was wrong with her) "Hermione, I could never ask you to do that for me and…"

"Nonsense…" Hermione cut him off "I've risked my neck for you many times, Harry Potter, I think it's safe to say that we're close enough for me to do you this small favor. Now, stop arguing and kiss me! In fact, just for arguing so much, I want you to kiss me till I'm happy with it and I've noticed you've improved! And if we have to stay here for hours, then so be it!"

Harry sighed, then slowly began leaning towards her, until their lips were touching once again, except, this time, he did not pull away.

At first, he was very rigid and shy, too nervous to do anything, however, just as he began feeling her lips on his own, the warmth that they exceeded and the way they seemed to mold together, he loosened up, deepening the kiss, eventually leading to something more desperate, more intense. They'd both been keeping their feelings stored inside ever since they'd known each other, even if they hadn't actually realized it until then.

Neither of them had much experience, yet, somehow, they just seemed to work in harmony, in unison, knowing what the other one would do next, and just molding together.

After what seemed like an eternity, they both were forced to stop due to lack of oxygen, and, though deeply disappointed by this, they opened their eyes and focused on the other, too dumbstruck to utter a word, and though Harry desperately wanted to kiss her again, he was too much of a gentleman to do so without her authorization. He did, however, wonder if perhaps she felt the same way he did, she must have felt something too, right?

His thoughts, however, were interrupted as Hermione muttered faintly "I told you not to stop kissing me until I was happy with it"

At first, he was hurt by this statement. Had she not felt the same he did? Had that kiss need improvement in her opinion? However, as he glanced at her, and saw her swollen lips produce a faint smirk, and her brown eyes shine with playfulness, he realized perhaps she did feel the same way, or so he hoped. In any case, however, he stopped analyzing this and did just what she'd instructed, many times more.

-----

Quite some time later, after Hermione had finally decided he'd improved quite a bit in his kissing abilities (the truth is: she wanted to keep going on but her lips were so bruised and swollen they actually hurt a bit) they were heading back to the castle.

"Excellent, Harry, I'm quite proud of you" she smiled.

"Well, thanks for helping me out" he replied with a goofy grin that was sure not to leave his face for at least a week.

She grew serious suddenly and stopped, making him look at her in the eye.

"Harry, I promise you this is my last command as your master. I won't make you do anything else for me, even though there's still two weeks left, but you've got to answer truthfully to me… What are your feelings for me?" she asked.

"What?" he asked in shock.

"You heard me, Harry" she said softly "What are your feelings for me?"

He stood in shock for several moments, not sure how to respond. What could he tell her? Should he tell her that the past few weeks in "slavery" had been the best in his whole life? Should he tell her that he yearned to stop walking, grab her into his arms and just snog her senseless once again? Could he admit to her that his feelings had long ago crossed the friendship line and now threatened to make his heart explode?

He took a deep breath, his decision already made.

"I…I don't want to be friends with you anymore, Hermione." he stated, his words echoing in her head, causing a sickening feeling dwell at the pit of her stomach.

"What?" she stood aghast, already feeling a bit dizzy. Was this because of that damn game of hers? She had thought he actually liked their kiss, had he actually hated it? Had she imposed herself on him so much that she now had lost his friendship?

She gazed into his green orbs, expecting to find them cold and darkened, but instead they were as bright as ever, perhaps even more, there was an emotion shown in them which she just couldn't identify, she'd never seen it in Harry before.

"I don't want to be your friend, Mione, I want to be much more than that" he stated with finality and a deep resolution, then closed his eyes in anticipation of what was to come. Would she slap him, tell him she never wanted to see him again, that their friendship was over? Or…dared he hope perhaps she would state she felt the same way, or was at least willing to give it a try?

He did not, however, expect a moist pair of lips which he now knew so well, land upon his own.

-------

"Hey guys, why did you take so long today?" asked an oblivious Ron as the couple entered the common room, hand in hand, large grins on their swollen lips.

"Ermm…the view was simply breathtaking today" Hermione lied quickly, and not too convincingly, yet Ron didn't seem to notice.

"Hermione…" he pleaded "I've already done 6 hats today, can I go outside and stretch out a bit? A guy needs to unwind once in a while"

"Sure, Ron" she replied cheerfully.

"Aww…Hermione, come on, why won't you just…" he paused as her words sank in "You actually said it was okay?!!?"

"Yeah, Ron, take the day off" she stated absentmindedly, a smile never leaving her face.

It was then that he noticed their handholding and knew just what had happened. Woohooo! Ginny owed him 2 galleons.

"Good going, mate!" he cheered, then started walking out the door as Hermione's voice called out to him.

"In fact, Ron, I won't need to do anything for me anymore, I've already got everything I wanted"

_Well, that's it. Sorry, but I'm no good at endings. Anyway, hope you had a good holiday, and I promise I'll try to update my stories as much as humanly possible while I'm back at Switzerland. _

_Now…would you please review? (puts on sad puppy face)_


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